The Christmas Market in Nuremberg

The Christmas market in Nuremberg is the most famous German Christmas market. It is called Christkindlesmarkt. Christkindlesmarkt means Christ child market. The picture above is the symbol of the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt. It looks like an angel but it is not an angel. It is the Christ child. It is the baby Jesus. You can see this symbol  of the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt everywhere at the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt.





One of the most famous attractions of the Nuremberg Christmas market is the clock of Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church).

Every day at noon the clock's chimes ring and the figures move around in an circle.

Another attraction of the Christmas market in Nuremberg is a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

There were many beautiful crafts on sale at the Christmas market. One of the most interesting were the Christmas pyramids. The heat from the candles rises up and makes the propeller spin and the propeller spinning makes the figures below spin too.

There were also hand-made Christmas tree ornaments and Christmas wreathes for sale.





The Nuremberg Christmas market was very beautiful at night.

After the Christmas market closed at two o'clock on Christmas Eve I went to Nuremberg Castle. The view from the castle is great!



This is Albrecht Durer House. Durer was a famous artist who lived in Nuremberg.

This is a statue of Durer

I was really tired after walking all over Nuremberg on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, the hotel I stayed in was very comfortable. The pillow and the quilt were the best! Filled with Canada Goose down. Warm and Cozy!!!

Early Christmas Day I went back to Frankfurt.

The Christmas Market in Stuttgart

On my second day in Germany I bought a first-class twin German Rail Pass. This pass was called "twin" because two people could use it. I could use the pass on four days in one month. It cost three hundred and fifty Euros. We decided to pay extra and get a first-class pass because the trains were very crowded. Many people were taking the trains to come home for Christmas. We could reserve a seat easily because we had a first-class pass.

The train we used was the ICE (Intercity Express). It's a high speed train like the shinkansen in Japan. The ICE isn't as fast as the shinkansen but it is MUCH more comfortable. Some ICE carriages have video, music and internet access.


The first place we went to was Stuttgart. The Stuttgart Christmas market is the biggest.
The Stuttgart Christmas market is in the centre of the city. Most of it is in the old part of the city but some of it is in the new part too. It's very big!


This is St. Eberhard's Cathedral. The main cathedral is often the centre of an old European city.





There were many crafts and sweets for sale at the Christmas market including nutcracker figures and lebkuchen.
There were also very delicious sweets like this bun filled with a sugar and cinnamon paste and covered in vanilla sauce.




The Christmas market was very beautiful at night. It closed at nine o'clock.


The next day I got on the train again. I had a semi-private compartment. It was very comfortable.

The Christmas Market in Frankfurt

The Frankfurt Christmas market was the first Christmas market that I visited. It was a little cold. It was minus five degrees celsius.

I drank gluhweine (mulled wine) in order to stay warm. Gluhweine is hot wine. Actually at first I didn't know the German name for this wine so I asked for "hot wine". Everyone understood. Everyone can drink gluhwein, even children because most of the alchohol is boiled away. Gluhwein has a nice smell. It has a nice smell because spices are added to it, especially cinnamon. There are many vendors selling gluhwein so the smell is everywhere. A mug of gluhwein cost five Euros. If you returned the mug, the vendor gave you two Euros and fifty cents, but you could keep the mug for a souvenir.

This is my first meal in Germany. I ate sausages, sauerkraut, and a baked potato with sour cream.

Below are some more pictures from the Christmas market in Frankfurt

Christmas Markets in Germany Part 2

I travelled in Germany from the twenty-first of December to the twenty-seventh of December.


Look at the map below. Germany is the dark green shape on the map, in the middle of Europe.

This map is available from wikipedia on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Location_Germany_EU_Europe.png

I went to Germany in order to visit some Christmas Markets. Germany is famous for its Christmas markets. The first Christmas market was in Dresden in 1434 CE. Christmas markets are open in Germany every year. They open in the month of advent. I visited Christmas markets in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Nuremburg. Look at the map below. I started my trip in Frankfurt. I stayed one night in Frankfurt. Then I went to Stuttgart. I stayed one night in Stuttgart. Then I went to Nuremberg. I stayed in Nuremberg for two nights. Then I went back to Frankfurt. On the twenty-sixth of December, I made a day trip to Koln. Koln is called Cologne in English. I returned to Frankfurt the same day. I left Germany the next day. If you click the map below you can see the route I took during my travels in Germany.

This map is a modified version of a map available from wikipedia on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dmap.PNG

Christmas Markets in Germany

Today I'm going to Germany. I'm going to visit the Christmas Markets in Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Nuremberg. I'll post some pictures soon.
Merry Christmas, Joyeaux Noel!!

Toyo Gakuen University FE-3 Listening Assignment 4

Here is your last assignment. Follow these steps:

1. Preview the tasks on the assignment sheet that was e-mailed to you.
   
2. Look at the pictures. Think about the topic.


3. Go to http://kibishipaul.com/blog1/2007/12/04/lesson-59-saving-the-orangutan-text/


4. Read the instructions. Read about the key vocabulary.


5. Watch the video and do the tasks in the assignment sheet that was e-mailed to you.


6. Submit your completed assignment by Sunday 16 December 2007 11:59 pm.

Enjoy!!

Human Rights Week in Japan 人権週間

This year Human Rights Week is from the third of December to the tenth of December. The characters above are the mascots of Human Rights Week in Japan. Here is a link for more information in Japanese: http://www.moj.go.jp/JINKEN/jinken03.html
The tenth of December is International Human Rights Day.